TNS boss gutted by Champions League exit
The New Saints boss Craig Harrison today revealed his Champions League heartbreak and insisted – 'we have never been so close.'
The Saints were dumped out by SK Slovan Bratislava after a 2-0 defeat in Rhyl last night.
It sealed a 3-0 aggregate loss in the second qualifying round following their 1-0 reverse to the Slovakian champions last week.
And Harrison believes they blew a golden chance to progress after defeats to Legia Warsaw and Helsingborg in the last two years.
He said: "Everyone is gutted, it's the closest we've been. Legia were a very good team and the game was over after the first leg with three away goals. Helsingborg was a different story because we did well at home and then we were out of the tie after half an hour in the away leg.
"This time, all the way through, until they scored their first goal with 15 minutes left we were right in it.
"We know what we have in the dressing room and that's the disappointing part. This is my third Champions League campaign and that was the biggest disappointment because the players got themselves into such a fantastic position from the first leg.
"The reason why we came here and people were saying we had a chance to go through was because of the performance in the away leg."
Marko Milinkovic scored twice in the final 14 minutes to sink Saints and Harrison was left to rue their lack of penetration.
He said: "The players did themselves and the club proud, we're disappointed we didn't go through as I thought, in the first half, we had momentum.
"You are talking about best club competition in the world and when you are on top you have to score a goal. We had momentum and that was the opportunity to get a goal.
"They are a massive club and I don't want to be too defensive but because the performance away from home was that good we had more expectations."
Bratislava boss Frantisek Straka praised the Saints' spirit but insisted his side deserved the win.
He said: "Our home win was very important and we had to have patience with the situation. TNS were very tough and it was very close because in the second half we dominated. It was exactly what I wanted to see.
"TNS played very simple football, long ball to the strikers but we played more football and waited for the situations. I knew we would have the chances because TNS would need to open the game."
